Moving Trailer in Garage

[hunter77ah]

Hey Crew,

My garage isn't very big, so to maximize space, I need to slide my boat as close to the wall as possible.  I was planning to use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Pentagon-Tools-5061-Tire-Skates/dp/B000UAK424/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_60_lp_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XPQDVDVVP6W5FGHWM83A

 

Anyone have any experience or suggestions?   With the way my garage door sits, I can only get the boat so close to the wall.  If I could literally "scoot" it over, I could gain 3-5 feet in the front and about 5-6 feet near the platform. 

 

TIA!

 

 

[JeffK]

I just ordered these and they arrived today.  I won't be able to try them out until this weekend, but if you can wait, I'm happy to give you a review.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VSMWGCZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[hunter77ah]

10 minutes ago, JeffK said:

I just ordered these and they arrived today.  I won't be able to try them out until this weekend, but if you can wait, I'm happy to give you a review.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VSMWGCZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'd appreciate it.  I have about a month before I winterize, but I figured I'd get a jump start.  Thanks!

[oldjeep]

Make sure you have a helper or two.  I have a bigger version of those for moving cars and the biggest issue is getting all the castors to move in a new direction.  Helps to have a couple people to keep the vehicle from moving in an unintended direction and to provide enough uumph to turn it.

[Mike]

1 hour ago, hunter77ah said:

Hey Crew,

My garage isn't very big, so to maximize space, I need to slide my boat as close to the wall as possible.  I was planning to use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Pentagon-Tools-5061-Tire-Skates/dp/B000UAK424/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_60_lp_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XPQDVDVVP6W5FGHWM83A

 

Anyone have any experience or suggestions?   With the way my garage door sits, I can only get the boat so close to the wall.  If I could literally "scoot" it over, I could gain 3-5 feet in the front and about 5-6 feet near the platform. 

 

TIA!

 

 

I bought something on EBay like the ones you are considering. I ended up returning them. It was almost impossible to change direction of the casters. I even tried to use a large adjustable wrench to manually change the direction of each caster. I think the ads say 6,000 pounds, but I think that is if you are using 4 dollies. With a boat trailer you might be using only 2 dollies if you have a single axle.

I tried to use these on my 2000 Malibu Sunsetter LXI with a single axle trailer with 2 people trying to move the boat while we had it on the dollies. The garage floor was smooth. With my using just 2 dollies I was probably over their weight limit. If you are using 4 dollies, or the dollies you are buying are a better quality, maybe you will have better results.

In my opinion, I think the 3 inch casters are a bit too small, but I hope it works for you. I have the same problem with tight space in getting boat in garage and these sounded like perfect solution. Here is link to dollies I bought and returned.

Link to EBay wheel dollies

Edited October 5, 2017 by Mike

[solorex]

These are WAY better: https://www.zendextool.com/gojak-2/

Buddy of mine has these and uses them all the time for moving cars around, they pivot properly, the castors are way better quality.  You get what you pay for though, these are pricey.

Edited October 5, 2017 by solorex

[P6Expert]

Because of the uphill slope of my driveway, I have to disconnect my boat about three feet outside of the garage.  Once it is unhooked, I have been using a Parkit360 to move the boat into my garage.  This device takes a bit of practice to get used to its functions, but once you figure it out, it is quite useful to move your boat around in the garage.  It is not cheap at about $1.600.00.  Very useful if you have to move your boat a lot once it is unhooked from vehicle.

Examples of Use:  You can place a wheel chock behind one axle and then aim the Parkit360 perpendicular to the trailer to pivot the trailer in the direction opposite of the chock. 

The following link shows the version I purchased:

https://parkit360.ca/collections/trailer-dollies/products/trailer-mover-10000lbs-capacity-base?variant=41398621136  

[Mike]

2 hours ago, solorex said:

These are WAY better: https://www.zendextool.com/gojak-2/

Buddy of mine has these and uses them all the time for moving cars around, they pivot properly, the castors are way better quality.  You get what you pay for though, these are pricey.

Those really look good. The 6200 model has the 4" and 5" casters which would be much better than the 3" casters that the other dollies in posts seem to have. BUT... it looks like about $1,200 for 4 dollies on Amazon.

Edited October 6, 2017 by Mike

[coldwater-echelon]

3 hours ago, solorex said:

These are WAY better: https://www.zendextool.com/gojak-2/

Buddy of mine has these and uses them all the time for moving cars around, they pivot properly, the castors are way better quality.  You get what you pay for though, these are pricey.

I have a set similar to these and have moved boats, campers and cars.  With 2 people it is pretty easy, but I do agree with @oldjeep that sometimes it is difficult to get the casters to move in a new direction. Oh, and a flat surface is a must any cracks where the concrete is raised will stop you in a heart beat. 

[solorex]

13 hours ago, Mike said:

Those really look good. The 6200 model has the 4" and 5" casters which would be much better than the 3" casters that the other dollies in posts seem to have. BUT... it looks like about $1,200 for 4 dollies on Amazon.

Yeah, like I said they are super pricey.  But SO handy, kinda a lifetime purchase for multiple uses.  You can find them used but they don't come up too often.

[Fffrank]

16 hours ago, solorex said:

These are WAY better: https://www.zendextool.com/gojak-2/

Buddy of mine has these and uses them all the time for moving cars around, they pivot properly, the castors are way better quality.  You get what you pay for though, these are pricey.

Those are so cool!!

 

I'd buy the cheap ebay/amazon ones, though if I was just using it for seasonal storage.  And once I decided that the casters sucked, I'd just upgrade with some larger casters with rubber wheels.  Problem solved and still cheap.

[John I.]

I have used something similar for many years. I can move the boat on my own, but it's much easier to maneuver with a second person. Keep the casters lubricated.

 

[mackie12]

I have tried dolleys but are a pain as I have to jack up trailer to get them under. This is what I am working on now......thoughts?

[P6Expert]

To Mackie12, I love the ingenuity of using a winch and trailer dolly to move your boat into its parking spot.  I am also envious of the your garage and the perfect parking spot for your boat.

My Parkit360 is basically a trailer dolly with wheels driven by a winch motor and gears.  The nice thing about my Parkit360 is that it comes with a 12V battery trickle charger built in so that the attached battery is always ready to go and fully charged.  The downside is that I paid a lot more for the Parkit360 than was paid for the non-motorized trailer dolly plus winch (Ouch!).  Again, I say kudos to your ingenuity on coming up with this solution to moving your boat.  

[Dare2goBare]

36 minutes ago, mackie12 said:

I have tried dolleys but are a pain as I have to jack up trailer to get them under. This is what I am working on now......thoughts?

Love it! This was one of my planes to do to, especially with the fact I've got a tandem trailer.  Now that I'm retiring in three weeks, I should find time to buy the winch and get at it. Like your garage, you didn't need to put a big hole in the back wall to fit in the BU.... lol...lol...

[boardjnky4]

48 minutes ago, mackie12 said:

I have tried dolleys but are a pain as I have to jack up trailer to get them under. This is what I am working on now......thoughts?

You couldn't do that with your truck?

[mackie12]

I should clarify, this is not me.......as much as I would love to take the credit..........just found this on youtube while looking for ideas.....

 

@boardjnky4 yes and no, my problem is it is so tight to get it in and the angle has to be perfect. once I hook up to pull out again I need to be at that EXACT same angle or i cannot get my boat out.

[boardjnky4]

14 minutes ago, mackie12 said:

I should clarify, this is not me.......as much as I would love to take the credit..........just found this on youtube while looking for ideas.....

 

@boardjnky4 yes and no, my problem is it is so tight to get it in and the angle has to be perfect. once I hook up to pull out again I need to be at that EXACT same angle or i cannot get my boat out.

oh gotcha... yeah I hear ya on the angle. sometime can be really hard to manage. 

[Soon2BV]

if you only need to move one direction, would 2 of these work? 

https://www.amazon.com/Blackhawk-B6350-Black-Fast-Service/dp/B0054WGRBA/ref=pd_sim_328_7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YEA7N6BMTPRW97VHSATX

 

[CantSleepClownWilEatME]

For the price of two of those you could almost do on of these:

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jack/Trailer-Valet/STC-V211.html?feed=npn&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI09XG_5Dl1gIVw0OGCh3BiAPcEAQYAiABEgLBZ_D_BwE

[JeffK]

On 10/5/2017 at 5:05 PM, JeffK said:

I just ordered these and they arrived today.  I won't be able to try them out until this weekend, but if you can wait, I'm happy to give you a review.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VSMWGCZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Love quoting myself.     As promised, a quick review.  At the end of the day, the end results were accomplished, but it wasn't as easy as I had hoped.  I have the wide, low-profile tires on and there was barely any room before the tires were resting on the bolt heads  I had to adjust the dollies a couple times to get them right where I needed them to be.  The weight was significant, as one outer edge near the bolt hole bent a little bit under the load.  I believe it had to do with the direction the caster was in.  Secondly, without most of the casters pointing the correct direction in the beginning, it was tough to get it moved.  In the end though, I got the trailer much closer to the wall and that was the goal.  It definitely needed larger casters and a stronger platform to bolt them to. 

[JeffK]

I always love to WAY over engineer things, so here goes.  This is more of a pipe-dream scenario.  What about a conveyor-style roller set built into the concrete floor?  If you only aligned them east-west, you could park on them and just roll the boat sideways, right?  COuld be overkill, unless you were in your forever house at this point. 

 

[hunter77ah]

17 minutes ago, JeffK said:

I always love to WAY over engineer things, so here goes.  This is more of a pipe-dream scenario.  What about a conveyor-style roller set built into the concrete floor?  If you only aligned them east-west, you could park on them and just roll the boat sideways, right?  COuld be overkill, unless you were in your forever house at this point. 

 

I saw something on Facebook a few years back that was similar to this. It had a conveyor belt system over rollers for both axles. You drove on it and then had a remote control that “conveyored” the car to the other side of the garage.

[hunter77ah]

9 hours ago, Soon2BV said:

if you only need to move one direction, would 2 of these work? 

https://www.amazon.com/Blackhawk-B6350-Black-Fast-Service/dp/B0054WGRBA/ref=pd_sim_328_7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YEA7N6BMTPRW97VHSATX

 

I have one right now, it’s really sketchy to push/pull on with the weight of the boat.

[JeffK]

5 minutes ago, hunter77ah said:

I saw something on Facebook a few years back that was similar to this. It had a conveyor belt system over rollers for both axles. You drove on it and then had a remote control that “conveyored” the car to the other side of the garage.

Even if you just did the rollers, with no belt or automation, I'd think it would work.